Rain poured down harshly, making the old flat moan and creak. A few cracks in the windows and ceilings caused a few leakages, making Wendy and Judo collect the drops in buckets. A small wave of fog flowed through the forest, making the already grey surrounding more grey and bland.
"I almost fell down a well yesterday Mum." Judo said, eating her cold cereal. Across from her, Wendy typed away on her laptop, not looking up.
"Sounds great."
"I could've drowned and you would've never found me."
"Sounds great."
Judo grew slightly annoyed.
"I also killed someone."
"Sounds nice."
"I'm going to drive the car and drink alcohol. How does that sound?"
"Sounds gre-." Wendy caught herself in time. "JUDO! If you need something to do, you can start unpacking."
Judo moaned. "Can I go walk through the forest again?"
"No. Rain makes mud, mud makes a mess, and messes are something you don't clean."
Wendy said sternly, taking a sip from her morning tea.
Judo slouched in her chair. "Mum, I really miss Australia."
"I know sweetheart. But we can't always get what we want. That's just life." Wendy said, looking up from her laptop and giving Judo a soft look. Judo let out a small groan.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Some kid left this on the door step for you." Wendy said, reaching into the pile of mail and handing Judo a newspaper wrapped item. Judo took the package and read the note on top of it.
'Hey Jiu Jitsu, look what I found in my Grandma's closet. Look like anyone you know? -Wybie'
Judo let out an audible groan. "This kid…"
She opened the package and was met with a doll of her with button eyes. Judo froze in shock, becoming slightly terrified of the voodoo doll she was holding.
"That's creepy." Wendy remarked, sharing her daughter's horror, staring at the doll in shock. Judo examined the doll. It was very well made. Sharply cut fabric, tightly sewn threads, it was even in the shape of her to an insane amount.
"It feels like it's watching me." Judo said on edge. "Maybe watching the TV might help. Mum, do you know where's it packed."
"No you can't watch TV yet. We have so much to unpack."
Judo let out a loud elongated groan. Wendy tried ignoring her, but quickly became annoyed.
"JUDO! If you don't want to unpack, then…" Wendy looked around her immediate area and picked up a pen and notepad. "Play a game like you did with Bluey and MacKenzie. Gi count the doors and windows and list everything that is blue! Just…. LET. ME. WORK!" Wendy snapped, shoving the notepad and pen into Judo arms and turning back to her laptop. Judo, caught off guard from her mum's sudde abrasiveness, took the hint it was best to leave and not anger her anymore. Whenever she got that tone, it always meant 'Leave me alone or see me get ACTUALLY angry' and angry Wendy is something that scares small Judo.
Judo walked out the kitchen down the cold dark hallway, carrying the doll with her. She walked over to the cold foggy window and peered outside. A wave of fog swept the environment amongst dead trees and bushes. Judo moaned and wrote down 'Twelve Leaky Windows'.
Judo walked upstairs towards her bedroom.
Her bedroom was small and pretty empty, aside from a few boxes here and there. It was smaller than her bedroom back at her old house and was colder too. Judo walked over to her closet and put on a sweater she received from Bluey on her birthday. Well, Bandit had bought it for Bluey to give to Judo.
"God, I miss you Bluey." Judo whined. She sat on her bed and remembered deeply her moments with Bluey and Bingo. Tears fell from her eyes, missing the good days deeply.
As she laid on her bed, the cold breeze and the full stomach of cereal lulled her to sleep.
She dreamt about the flat she was in.
She was in her bedroom with furniture that wasn't her and toys strewn about and a bunk bed instead of the single she currently sleeps in. It was pouring hard outside and clearly night.
Downstairs, she heard sobbing.
Judo curiously left the room and crept downstairs. There was an old grandpa clock at the other end of the hallway, a nice victorian rug folding down the stairs, paintings of what looked like an old sheepdog family hanging. As Judo went downstairs, she peered into the kitchen.
There was a cop talking to two older english sheepdog couple with the mum sobbing in the father's arms.
"Are you sure that she was wearing a green dress when you guys left?" The cop asked.
"YES! She tried it on and didn't like it!"
"Our other daughter says she went into the crawlspace door and never came out." The father said.
"Crawlspace door?" Judo asked. She then looked into the living room as the cops kept questioning the couple. There in the living room, an old english sheepdog girl sat there, silently crying as she peered into an open crawlspace door that was filled with bricks.
"Uh… hello?" Judo asked the girl. The girl didn't acknowledge her and continued crying.
Judo then noticed the little girl was clamping a black key in her left hand.
Suddenly, the little look intensely at the key.
"Why! Why didn't you listen to me!" The girl sobbed before standing up and running past Judo. Judo followed her as the girl ran up to her bedroom. The english sheepdog ran over to her room corner and pulled up a small chunk of wood plank. She threw the key into it and recovered. Judo watched as the sheepdog leaped into her bottom bunk and began sobbing harshly. Judo then noticed a doll of an english sheepdog in a green dress with black button eyes sitting on a nightstand.
A loud clash of lightning awoke Judo. "What a weird ass dream." Judo muttered, rubbing her eyes.
She then realized that she was in the same exact room as in her dream. Same wallpaper color, all be it slightly faded, same shape, same windows. Judo then slowly turned to the corner of her room. She walked over and examined the wood plank. There was indeed a small movable chunk. She lifted it and saw a key a few dead beatles. She picked up the key.
It was heavy, black, cold. It had what looked like a button on one end. "Does this open the door?" Judo wondered. Judo exited her room and walked downstairs. Wendy was still typing away at her laptop and was in the middle of a zoom call.
Judo walked into the living room and walked over to where the girl had been sitting. If you were to look closely, you could indeed see the shape of a crawlspace door.
Judo glanced back at the kitchen, seeing Wendy chatting away. Using a box cutter lying on a box labeled 'snowglobes', she cut the wallpaper, cutting the shape of the door.
Cutting the paper off the keyhole, she entered the key and opened the door. A brickwall faced back at her.
"JUDO!" Wendy yelled, standing in the living room door way. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"I-I was just trying to open the door!" Judo replied, scared.
"YOU TORE UP THE WALLPAPER!" Wendy growled, examining the ruined wallpaper.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Just…." Wendy growled. "Wait, is that a door?" Wendy walked over and examined the door.
"It's a crawlspace I think. Do you know why it's bricked up?" Judo asked.
"No. You shouldn't have tore the wallpaper. Just, don't cut up anything else."
"Ok." Judo said.
Wendy walked back to the kitchen. Judo sighed, relieved Wendy didn't scold her or punish. As she went to go upstairs, she found the doll Wybie gave her laying by a box a few feet away from her.
"Did I leave you down here?" Judo asked herself, picking it up and walking back upstairs.
—
Supper was a unappealing. Wendy made potato soup, something Judo has a hard time stomaching. Wendy, still typing away at her laptop gave Judo two options.
Eat the soup, do the dishes, then go to bed.
Eat nothing, do the dishes, then go to bed.
Two very hard decisions.
Judo collapsed in bed, hands wet from dish washing. It started raining again again, much to Judo annoyance since her mum won't let her explore with freshly wet ground.
Judo grabbed a picture frame placed next to her on her nightstand and softly gazed upon it. Bluey, Bingo, her, Mackenzie, and Bluey's dad who Judo had a small crush on but would never admit it were their, celebrating Judo's birthday at a pizza place.
"Don't forget about me mates. Please." Judo moaned. She placed the picture back on the nightstand, gazing on Bandit for a few more seconds. She cuddled up next to her button eyed doll and turned off the lamp, plunging her in darkness as she slowly fell asleep.
Wendy, who was still downstairs, finished her work for the day set her laptop to charge. She walked up to Judo's room and peered inside, seeing her softly sleeping. Wendy quietly closed the door and went to her rom. After taking a shower and performing her nightly routine, she fell asleep in her bed.
Silently, the crawlspace door slowly was pushed open.